Selamawit Asmelash, poultry farmer
“When my husband abandoned us, I could not send my children to school. On top of that, I had a huge debt to pay with no income at all. I did not know what to do. The ICRC helped me to buy the equipment for my farm. Now my business is growing and my children are happy.” In March 2015, Selamawit, her husband and their three children were repatriated from Eritrea to Ethiopia. They received a grant and a small plot of land from the Ethiopian micro finance institution in Mekele, to set up a poultry farm. Unfortunately, Selamawit’s husband ran away, taking the entire grant money with him. Selamawit was left alone with her three children and a small plot of land which the government would take it back if it wasn't developed. The ICRC provided her with a grant which enabled her to buy 200 chickens, a refrigerator, a generator, feeding plates and medicine for the chickens. She has also opened a small shop which she keeps replenishing with new products.